Page 27 of The Scottish Island Wedding

‘How are you?’ he asked. He wore an impenetrable expression.

‘Fine. You?’

There was a silence, in which Heather got increasingly annoyed.

In her mind, when Matty finally reappeared after his unexplained absence, he should have been full of apologies. He should be on his knees, begging her to forgive him, explaining why he’d been gone. He should have tears in his eyes. He should tell her that there was no woman on earth he would rather be with, and that he would take the guilt of leaving her before the most special day in their lives to his grave with shame. The explanation of why he was away should be so compelling that nobody, not even the most stone-hearted of humans, could fail to understand.

But none of that seemed to be happening.

‘So… are you going to tell me why you’ve been away?’ She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘You said it was work. What was it that was so important?’

He blinked.

‘Um. Yes. Maybe… shall we go for a walk in the gardens? It’s a bit cramped in here.’ He looked around them, a confused expression on his face. ‘Is this… a cupboard, again?’

‘No. It’s a storeroom.’

‘Right. Don’t want to make a habit of it, I suppose.’ He looked at the boxes. ‘What are they?’

‘Shoes.’

‘Okay… You seem angry with me.’

‘Oh, do I?’ Heather raised her voice. All the uncertainty and anxiety she’d been feeling over the past days roiled up in her. She felt the pressure of the emotion in her throat. ‘Gosh. I wonder why that is?’

‘Heather. Please. Calm down. I can explain everything. I thought… the gift…’

‘The gift what? You thought you’d be able to buy me off with it?’ She stood with her hands on her hips.

‘No… I wanted to show you I loved you while I couldn’t be with you. I thought you liked it. I thought we were okay.’

‘I did like it. It was sweet. But you can’t just make everything okay by sending me a scented candle. I need you to communicate with me! You haven’t explained anything so far, when you had ample opportunity to talk to me over the past few days. And don’t tell me to calm down. Calm down! Are you actually kidding me?’

Maybe he’ll tell me to smile next, she thought.

‘Okay, maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. Sorry.’ Matty took a step backwards. ‘Can we please get out of this broom cupboard, though?’

‘No. I’m fine where I am, actually.’ Heather stared at him, unblinking. ‘And it’s a store cupboard.’

She felt exactly the same as she had at the press conference, when she’d realised she knew, so deeply and truly, that her version of events was the truth and Elizabeth’s was a lie.

‘Um. Okay.’ Matty leaned awkwardly against the wall. ‘Well, first, I want to say that I’m really sorry for deserting you. It was unkind and selfish and I should have done better.’

‘You should. Do you know how hard it’s been, coping with your family on my own? And pretending that everything’s okay? Pretending that I’m not scared that you’ve left me?’

‘I would never leave you! Baby!’ Matty’s eyes widened; he looked shocked. ‘Please don’t say you thought that. I tried to stay in touch… be reassuring…’

‘I did think that! What else was I supposed to think?’

‘Oh, Heather… I’m so sorry. I had my reasons.’ Matty sighed. ‘However, I could have communicated better. I can only say that I’ll concentrate on doing better next time. Your happiness means everything to me, Heather… really and truly… I’m so annoyed with myself that I made you doubt me.’

‘Good. I accept your apology, because I love you,’ she said, more gently. ‘But Matty – we’re a team. That’s what it means when people get married. We’re together in this, and we should be together when stuff gets difficult. You don’t get to just disappear.’

‘I know.’ He looked miserable. ‘I’m sorry. Maybe it’s because of when I was at boarding school. I got used to being alone; it might take me some time to think of myself as a team with you. Maybe I’m not that much of a team player. Yet.’ He reached for her hand. ‘I want to be.’

‘I’ll always have sympathy for the bad things that happened to you, Matty. And sure, I grew up with five sisters. I’ve been a team player from birth. But you still abandoned me. You lied to me about who your parents were and who you were. And…’ She took a breath. ‘Did you know about this golf course? Your family’s building one on the other side of the island.’

Matty nodded.